King's Hawaiian Sweet Bread

[touaregsand]

The childhood treats thread got me thinking about King's Hawaiian sweet bread.

When I was a kid my favorite way to eat it was with butter and sugar. The sugar was either whipped into the butter or sprinkled on top.

My kids like it with nutella. We can't get sliced brioche in LA so we use sliced King's Hawaiian bread.

What's your favorite way to eat it?

[Jason Perlow]

Ripping a peice out of the loaf, chomping down on it, with a nice cup of French press 100 percent kona, black with sugar to wash it down.

[_john]

split in half and toasted in hot melted butter on a griddle or hot pan. sometimes I chop onions fine and let them caramelize a little on the griddle then smash the bread down on them to toast. I put a weight on top to then the bottom is all touching the griddle. when I buy some of the bread this usually makes up a breakfast/lunch/dinner for me, with the aforementioned coffee of course.

[Jason Perlow]

There are actually some decent recipes on the King's Hawaiian web site:

http://www.kingshawaiian.com/recipes/recipes.html

I like the BBQ pork sandwich idea....

[glossyp]

I like it as french toast eaten with coconut syrup - so sweet it makes your teeth hurt! Black coffee to wash it down and bacon for that all important protein.

[tejon]

Sliced thick with a bit of cultured butter on top. Pure heaven.

[touaregsand]

I just remembered another childhood favorite.

Macaroni salad or potato salad sandwiches with Hawaiian bread.

(I like starch)

Coleslaw sandwiches were pretty good too.

[SuzySushi]

I like Hawaiian sweet bread as-is, or with sweet butter or jam. It's great for French toast, too. My daughter loves Virginia ham sandwiches on buttered sweet bread -- we even served them, cut into fancy shapes, at her birthday pool party.

[torakris]

I eat it just like Jason. Just pull it apart with my hands and eat it plain with a nice cup of coffee on the side. Kona was my choice when living on Maui, but in Japan it is just too expensive...

[raxelita]

After attempting to gussie it up--making it into french toast, bread pudding, etc., I've determined that I like it best as Jason does, straight out the package.

It was a part of my diet while living in SF, but I haven't seen it around NYC. Does anyone know where it can be found over here?

[Genny]

Great one! This is actually my husband's favorite treat, next to angel food cake. He likes it sliced and plain (he can eat a whole loaf in a sitting if I let him!), toasted lightly with butter and cinnamon sugar...actually cinnamon sugar is another favorite of his...or as french toast, I usually add some orange juice/zest into the custard. He prefers his Log Cabin but I use maple syrup with mine.

[touaregsand]

Since no one else has mentioned the obvious I will.

Pan fried Spam and Hawaiian bread sandwiches.

Salty, greasy spam with crispy edges in between slices of soft, sweet bread.

It's gotta be good, no? Sort of like Hawaiian corn dogs. Hey that's a fast food idea! Spam dipped in sweet batter and fried. Or is already being done?

[petite tête de chou]

I like it toasted then smeared with hot pepper jelly and topped with a slice of toe-curling extra-sharp cheddar.

[Ms. Meliss]

Thickly sliced and sauteed in butter till crisp on both sides topped with vanilla ice cream and honey or fresh fruit. Also like it as gooey bread pudding with coconut syrup or hard sauce. YUMMM! Okay, I also like eating it straight out of the package (for some reason it tastes better when you tear as opposed to slicing)

[CaliPoutine]

Is this bread availble in MI?

I used to buy it in Cali and my fav way to make it was as stuffed french toast.

thick cut, stuffed with cream cheese and bananas. yummy.

[JumblyJu]

my favorite way to eat sweet bread is with butter.

my favorite bread to eat a tuna sandwich with is sweet bread.

Is King's sweet bread carried in Hawaii? I do remember the bakery on King street though.

[Jason Perlow]

Is King's sweet bread carried in Hawaii?  I do remember the bakery on King street though.

←

I remember Rachel and I having it for breakfast on our honeymoon on Maui 10 years ago, at least.

[skchai]

"Hawaiian" Sweet Bread is a local adaptation of the Portuguese "Pao Doce" that was brought over by plantation laborers from the Azores and Madeira during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was originally popularized by the "King's Bakery" which was located on near the corner of King St. and McCully in Honolulu - so I think the original name of the bread had more to do with the street than any pretensions to royalty (the Hawaiian Ali`i at any rate would probably not have recognized sweet bread, much less eaten much of it). Pretty soon sweet bread became so entrenched in the local food scene (particularly as a fundraiser for sports teams and the like) that, at least to outsiders, it became seen as a typical Hawai`i food. Once King' Bakery started marketing the sweetbread at retail outlets, the profit opportunities far outweighed those of the original bakery, which was closed down in the early 1990s. After a series of successors (each named "King's" something), the original spot is occupied by Makino Chaya, a all-you-can-eat Izakaya (!) run by the Todai folks. A more "rootsy" pao doce is still produced by a number of local bakeries, most notably Leonard's on Kapahulu, more famous for the malasadas (sic).

How do I like to eat it? Definitely toasted - otherwise the contemporary version is too squishy - with poha preserves. Portuguese sausage (linguica) and eggs round out a nice greasy breakfast.

[PakePorkChop]

"Hawaiian" Sweet Bread is a local adaptation of the Portuguese "Pao Doce" that was brought over by plantation laborers from the Azores and Madeira during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  It was originally popularized by the "King's Bakery" which was located on near the corner of King St. and McCully in Honolulu - so I think the original name of the bread had more to do with the street than any pretensions to royalty (the Hawaiian Ali`i at any rate would probably not have recognized sweet bread, much less eaten much of it).  Pretty soon sweet bread became so entrenched in the local food scene (particularly as a fundraiser for sports teams and the like) that, at least to outsiders, it became seen as a typical Hawai`i food.  Once King' Bakery started marketing the sweetbread at retail outlets, the profit opportunities far outweighed those of the original bakery, which was closed down in the early 1990s.  After a series of successors (each named "King's" something), the original spot is occupied by Makino Chaya, a all-you-can-eat Izakaya (!) run by the Todai folks.  A more "rootsy" pao doce is still produced by a number of local bakeries, most notably Leonard's on Kapahulu, more famous for the malasadas (sic).

How do I like to eat it?  Definitely toasted - otherwise the contemporary version is too squishy - with poha preserves.  Portuguese sausage (linguica) and eggs round out a nice greasy breakfast.

←

Very good, SK! You have allowed the pleasures of sweet bread to swirl before channeling all that energy into historical recollection.

Let me now throw out the question: wasn't Buck's Bakery a better sweet bread than

King's Bakery? Why, or why not?

[alohabear]

dip it in beef stew...ono

[wesza]

"Hawaiian" Sweet Bread is a local adaptation of the Portuguese "Pao Doce" that was brought over by plantation laborers from the Azores and Madeira during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  It was originally popularized by the "King's Bakery" which was located on near the corner of King St. and McCully in Honolulu - so I think the original name of the bread had more to do with the street than any pretensions to royalty (the Hawaiian Ali`i at any rate would probably not have recognized sweet bread, much less eaten much of it).   Pretty soon sweet bread became so entrenched in the local food scene (particularly as a fundraiser for sports teams and the like) that, at least to outsiders, it became seen as a typical Hawai`i food.  Once King' Bakery started marketing the sweetbread at retail outlets, the profit opportunities far outweighed those of the original bakery, which was closed down in the early 1990s.  After a series of successors (each named "King's" something), the original spot is occupied by Makino Chaya, a all-you-can-eat Izakaya (!) run by the Todai folks.   A more "rootsy" pao doce is still produced by a number of local bakeries, most notably Leonard's on Kapahulu, more famous for the malasadas (sic).

How do I like to eat it?  Definitely toasted - otherwise the contemporary version is too squishy - with poha preserves.  Portuguese sausage (linguica) and eggs round out a nice greasy breakfast.

←

Very good, SK! You have allowed the pleasures of sweet bread to swirl before channeling all that energy into historical recollection.

Let me now throw out the question: wasn't Buck's Bakery a better sweet bread than

King's Bakery? Why, or why not?

←

Buck's Bakery was a more authentic type of Portuguese Sweet Bread, many liked it better because it had a much better tasting crust and the inside seemed to be enhanced by eggs. When Buck's changed hand's it was purchased by a couple who were not interested in selling bread but preferred to concentrate on Pastry/Deli items. They eventually opened several branch retail locations as "Heidi's" [i'm not really sure about the name] but the owners were from Canada, where they owned some Business Schools.

Kings Bakery made a Bread that was very consistent, had a excellent location that was open 24/7 at the time closest place to a diner, but while Bakery was consistent, the food wasn't ever better then mediocre, even when the branch store opened in Waikiki. During that period the began to be merchandised on the mainland with breads being made under license or whatever as it has continued.

The popularity of "Kings Sweet Bread", I attribute to the fact that it was merchandised thru fund raisers with Coupons sold everywhere on Oahu by many Schools, Charities and Organizations. There were many Bakeries that made Sweet Bread better or at least comparable on Oahu, but King's and Buck's were the most popular for Coupon Sales.

This type of Coupon Sales provided a high percentage of overall sales for "Kings Bakery Sweet Bread", "Huli Huli Chicken", Leonard's Malasada's" and "Zippy's Chili". I am pretty sure that the majority of Honolulu's population were redeeming these coupons for many years. I'm not sure if they are still as popular but they sure used to be everywhere on Oahu.

Irwin

[crosparantoux]

I never found decent tasting Kings bread on the mainland. In SF, the labels on the breads say they're made in Long Beach. Leonard's bakery in Kapahulu, Oahu, has the best sweet bread. The thin, shiny crust with the suggestive top is just delish with butter.

Last summer I found really good sweet bread/pao doce, baked daily by Portuguese wives of lobstermen, up in Stonington Maine! Wow. Sweet bread with butter and fried clams! I forget the name of the place. It's out on the rocky edge of Deer Isle. Just a few picnic tables with kooky wind ornaments, piles of lobbster floats, and curious cats. They got both the sweet bread and the Portuguese soul right--something Kings can't do with their bread factories strategically located near big supermarket warehouses.

[Jason Perlow]

Some interesting feedback from the King's Hawaiian company:

Hi Jason,

I wanted to let you know where you would be able to find our Bread in the New York area;

                        A&P/Waldbaum's

                        King Cullen

                        Foodtown

We are currently building our distribution in this market and hope to increase our availability by the end of the year.

It was very interesting to hear all the comments from your members regarding their favorite ways to eat our bread!  One comment was how the Bread wasn't really Hawaiian, but Portuguese.  It is actually Hawaiian as our founder, Robert Taira, developed this recipe on his own, in his Hilo bakery.  His inspiration started with the Portuguese bread due to its nice sweet flavor and long lasting shelf life; however it was a very dry and hard bread.  He wanted to keep the sweet flavor, but add a moistness and softness that would still have the ability to last a long time, thus his Hawaiian Bread was born.

Although our production facilities are located in Torrance, CA, the Taira family still owns and runs both our bread & roll facilities as well as two restaurants.

Thank you for your interest in our products!  Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Laani Watanabe

[glossyp]

This is why you are our fearless leader...no loaf left unbaked or uneaten! Thanks for the info.

Edited May 30, 2005 by glossyp (log)

[miulang]

Thickly sliced and sauteed in butter till crisp on both sides topped with vanilla ice cream and honey or fresh fruit. Also like it as gooey bread pudding with coconut syrup or hard sauce. YUMMM! Okay, I also like eating it straight out of the package (for some reason it tastes better when you tear as opposed to  slicing)

←

No one has yet mentioned haupia french toast! You make some haupia and put it between 2 thick slices of sweet bread (or take one really thick piece of bread and cut a pocket in the middle) and dip in custard like regular french toast. Top with coconut or guava syrup. Absolutely scrumptious.

Miulang

Edited June 7, 2005 by miulang (log)